Classic hostage rescue - like the movies
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NBC News and news servicesupdated 6:35 p.m. ET April 13, 2009
MOMBASA, Kenya - In a daring high-seas rescue, U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates and freed the American sea captain who had offered himself as a hostage to save his crew.
The operation was a victory for the world's most powerful military but angry pirates vowed Monday to retaliate.
Those threats raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia.
"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."
News of Capt. Richard Phillips' rescue caused his crew in Kenya to break into wild cheers and brought tears to the eyes of those in Phillips' hometown of Underhill, Vt., half a world away from the Indian Ocean drama.
A statement from Phillips' wife Andrea was read at a news conference in Vermont on Monday. She said the hardest part for her was not knowing what her husband was enduring. She said she is proud of her husband and thanks everyone for giving her "the strength to be strong for Richard."In Washington, President Barack Obama on Monday said Phillips' "safety has been our principal concern."
In a sharp warning to pirates off Somalia, Obama added: "I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks."
"We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise, and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," the president said.
Earlier Monday, six mortar shells were fired toward the airport in the Somali capital of Mogadishu as a plane carrying a U.S. congressman took off, an airport employee at the control tower said.New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne had met with Somalia’s president and prime minister for a one-day visit to discuss piracy and security issues. The airport staffer said Payne’s plane took off safely and none of the mortar shells landed in the airport.
Phillips' whereabouts?
Meantime, Pentagon sources told NBC News that the current plan is to reunite Phillips with his 19-man crew from the Maersk Alabama in the Kenyan city of Mombassa.Phillips is still on the U.S. Navy ship Boxer, and it's not clear exactly when he will be take to the Kenyan port city. Pentagon officials say there's no concern over Phillips security despite pirates threats to seek retribution.
From Mombasa, it's believed Phillips and his crew will fly back to the United States aboard a plane chartered by Maersk Line Lmtd., which owns the Alabama.
The stunning resolution to a five-day standoff came Sunday in a daring nighttime assault in choppy seas after pirates had agreed to let the USS Bainbridge tow their powerless lifeboat out of rough water.
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said Phillips, 53, was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed because a pirate on the lifeboat held an AK-47 assault rifle to the back of his head.
In an interview with NBC's TODAY show, Gortney said it took only three shots to kill the three pirates.
Interviewed Monday from Bahrain, Gortney said the take-down happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed."
Gortney described the snipers as "extremely, extremely well-trained." He said the firing by the snipers was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge after the pirates "exposed themselves" to attack.
U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. Two other pirates popped their heads up out of the lifeboat, giving snipers three clear targets from the Bainbridge, one official said.Military officials Monday described the snipers' operation as remarkable — firing at a small lifeboat 25 yards away at night and from the stern of a ship on rolling waters.
The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.
A fourth pirate surrendered after boarding the Bainbridge earlier in the day and could face life in a U.S. prison. He had been seeking medical attention for a wound to his hand and was negotiating with U.S. officials on conditions for Phillips' release, military officials said.
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Saw the news this morning more ship got hijack. Wonder which part of the coastline is RSN LST being deployed?
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i am surprised that they are so crack shot.. the shooting platform is moving and the target is moving.. and even in 25m, they can get 100% kils.. 3 shots kill 3 men... not even wounded or a 2nd shot...
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Originally posted by specfore:A fourth pirate surrendered after boarding the Bainbridge earlier in the day and could face life in a U.S. prison.
Oh, that's just effing great. Instead of making this skinny walk the plank off the side of the Bainbridge at gunpoint and become shark bait, the authorities are thinking of putting him in a US prison at the expense of the US taxpayers.Just effing great...
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Spencer99 .... it is even amazing when you read that it was done at night , at 25 yards , shooting down from one ship ( the Bainbridge is like an LST) to a small craft and in choppy seas. Also, when the SEALS deployed, I suspect not all are sniper trained in the team that parachuted in the water. So it is very likely that of the group of snipers, some are not sniper experts and probably were drafted in at the last moment to provide cover fire for the negotiations. They may have only been using a rifle or an SMG with night sights - not optimised for sniping.
Mei Gisborn... it's the rule of law now ! Guantanamo Bay is slated to close.... so much for American resolve.
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Originally posted by spencer99:
i am surprised that they are so crack shot.. the shooting platform is moving and the target is moving.. and even in 25m, they can get 100% kils.. 3 shots kill 3 men... not even wounded or a 2nd shot...
yeah it was a good shot. I was thinking the target must be more of a wobbling together with the wave like a pendulum.
but anyway just saw CNN news that military planners are reviewing options.
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From other reports I read, the US snipers had no choice but to shoot when they saw one of the hijackers pointed a gun at the hostage head. This account did show that the US navy was daring as snipers operate in a ship (quite far)and with powerful rifles with sights, merely pulled the triggers.
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The command and control of this rescue,though succeful,is flaw!!
2 group of military operators involved in this rescue,
one being stationed in USA!!Both group were required authorisation from
Obama to act.
The OC on site shall give the order,not the President who was thousand
of miles away.Besides,what if the authorization did not come
on time and delayed?For example,Obama was in the toilet
or sleeping.
2.Yankees is very stupid to tell the world what mistakes that
the pirtaes commit.The pirates should not came out from the life craft!!
Their exposures made the snipers jobs much easy and accurate!!
So,do u know wat the pirates wil do next time?
Next time is anytime from now.This morning news state that a few dozens
of hostages were caught!!
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Q Admiral, Justine again from FOX, it's been reported that the order to take action came from President Obama. Is that accurate, did the order come from the top, and would you say that action was needed because the ship was getting closer to shore? Was that also another reason that the timing was now for this rescue effort?
ADM GORTNEY: Our authority came, you're correct, our authorities came directly from the president.
And the number one authority for incidents if we were going to respond was if the captain's life was in immediate danger. And that is the situation in which our sailors acted.
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4400 -
here u can see 2 groups involved--
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=44297
wat if authorisation delayed??
Gates, speaking at the Marine Corps War College here, said two groups of military operators were involved in the rescue -- one based in the region and one based in the United States -- with each requiring separate authority from President Barack Obama. "And the approval was given virtually immediately in both cases," Gates said.
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In Vietnam war,i was told each bombing operation needed White House authorisation.
Now we all know this might lead to the failure of the War!!
History just repeats itself.
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oh wise and learned noisy.
please learn what is the chain of command
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_command
the president calls the final authority on all missions as the commander in chief. but local commanders have the immediate authority to exercise control and duties.
thats why an officer is "commissioned" and not enlisted. the officer is charged with the authority and responsibility to exercise the will of the state.
as holding the highest office in the state, the president has ultimate authority over ANY military issue.
as a field commander, the officer is empowered by the state to act in its interest. It is an agent of the state.
completly no conflict of authority/problems of who's in charge.you are simply confused between the concept of agency (state & president obama) and the agent (specific military unit)
maybe the problem lies with you, dont know come here talk rubbish. please please please do some reading before talking about it.
i find your lack of brains, disturbing.
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now lionnoisy thinks he's smarter than the pple operating the battleship???
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Originally posted by eagle:
now lionnoisy thinks he's smarter than the pple operating the battleship???
he thinks he's smarter than president obama
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Lionnoisy, get a Macbook or iMac for your next computer. Comes with automatic spellcheck for every single word you type!
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Originally posted by sgstars:
oh wise and learned noisy.
please learn what is the chain of command
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_command
the president calls the final authority on all missions as the commander in chief. but local commanders have the immediate authority to exercise control and duties.
thats why an officer is "commissioned" and not enlisted. the officer is charged with the authority and responsibility to exercise the will of the state.
as holding the highest office in the state, the president has ultimate authority over ANY military issue.
as a field commander, the officer is empowered by the state to act in its interest. It is an agent of the state.
completly no conflict of authority/problems of who's in charge.you are simply confused between the concept of agency (state & president obama) and the agent (specific military unit)
maybe the problem lies with you, dont know come here talk rubbish. please please please do some reading before talking about it.
i find your lack of brains, disturbing.
he had to wait for President's order to act!!
wat if the meaasge came late or the decoding of message delayed?
The ideal situation shall be the Commander shall be briefed and authorized
when he was rushing to the site.Not at the last minute.
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wow lol
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Originally posted by lionnoisy:
he had to wait for President's order to act!!
wat if the meaasge came late or the decoding of message delayed?
The ideal situation shall be the Commander shall be briefed and authorized
when he was rushing to the site.Not at the last minute.
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said Phillips, 53, was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed because a pirate on the lifeboat held an AK-47 assault rifle to the back of his head.
In an interview with NBC's TODAY show, Gortney said it took only three shots to kill the three pirates.
Interviewed Monday from Bahrain, Gortney said the take-down happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed."
Gortney described the snipers as "extremely, extremely well-trained." He said the firing by the snipers was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge after the pirates "exposed themselves" to attack.
U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. Two other pirates popped their heads up out of the lifeboat, giving snipers three clear targets from the Bainbridge, one official said.
Military officials Monday described the snipers' operation as remarkable — firing at a small lifeboat 25 yards away at night and from the stern of a ship on rolling waters.
which part of this says president obama had to personally approve the shooting ?
your self pwn reaching new levels. delusionary ones.
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Originally posted by lionnoisy:
he had to wait for President's order to act!!
wat if the meaasge came late or the decoding of message delayed?
The ideal situation shall be the Commander shall be briefed and authorized
when he was rushing to the site.Not at the last minute.
I think you are missing the point. Success or failure of the "entire mission against Priacy" ultimately it is the President office that held accountable. What you are hearing is basic responses from the white house.
The US has multiple ops going on at any one time. You think field commander would needs to run to the president each time an opportunity arises? You knock your head against the wall please.
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Originally posted by lionnoisy:
he had to wait for President's order to act!!
wat if the meaasge came late or the decoding of message delayed?
The ideal situation shall be the Commander shall be briefed and authorized
when he was rushing to the site.Not at the last minute.
Dude, ever hear of 'standing orders'? Never mind.
The US Special Forces never cease to amaze. Parachuting into the water even? That adds to the drama. It's like something out of Rambo or Call of Duty.
Let's hope our LST will do a good job over there. I guess our speculation on an earlier thread's confirmed, then! (http://www.sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/337982)
Perhaps there will be a feel-good American movie coming out of this, like United 93 or World Trade Centre or something similar. Should be nice to see.
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Lionnoisy again...
If Lionnoisy was ever to become a PC or Sect Comd, he'd insist on a direct line to the President.
"Sir, my men want to go to the toilet, can anot ah?"
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Originally posted by omega21:
Dude, ever hear of 'standing orders'? Never mind.
The US Special Forces never cease to amaze. Parachuting into the water even? That adds to the drama. It's like something out of Rambo or Call of Duty.
Let's hope our LST will do a good job over there. I guess our speculation on an earlier thread's confirmed, then! (http://www.sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/337982)
Perhaps there will be a feel-good American movie coming out of this, like United 93 or World Trade Centre or something similar. Should be nice to see.
Omega21 - the only Lionnoisy's "Standing Orders" = stand infront of Mc Donald counter - "1 big Mac, 1 large fries & 1 large coke" !!!!
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now lionnoisy thinks he's smarter than the pple operating the battleship???
eagle
What battleship ?
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Saw the news from Mindef web site. RSN is in action....chasing boats.
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Originally posted by sgstars:
which part of this says president obama had to personally approve the shooting ?
your self pwn reaching new levels. delusionary ones.
I really laughed at lionnoisy's post about obama
Can't help it... Good joke!